Robert Alan Evans (born 14 March 1978) is a British playwright and theatre director who primarily writes for children and young people. He is the winner of two CATS awards (one for The Voice Thief) and a Prix D'Orpheon (for The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk).
Early life and education Evans was born in 1978 in Oxford, England and grew up in Glasgow, Newcastle, Cardiff and Penarth. He studied for an MA in English Literature and History at the University of Edinburgh before moving to Glasgow in 2000, where he began writing and directing professionally for theatre.
Career After working as Assistant Director at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh on Gagarin Way by Gregory Burke and Iron by Rona Munro, Evans was sent to the World Interplay conference in Townsville, Australia in 2003 by the Traverse. His first play, A Girl in a Car with a Man, was picked up by playwright Simon Stephens. It was produced at the Royal Court Theatre in 2004 and actor Andrew Scott received the 2005 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for his portrayal of Alex. It was performed in German at the Munich Kammerspiele in November 2005. Evans developed Aruba (2005) and Fish Story (2007) with the People Can Run theatre company. Aruba had a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, then toured the UK and off Broadway.
His work for younger audiences includes Pinocchio (2006); Kappa (2007); an adaptation of Ben Rice's short story Pobby and Dingan (2010); The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk (2010); and an adaptation of Barry Hines’ A Kestrel for a Knave (2011). Pondlife was also performed in Stockholm as Neandertalare (2011) and in Subiaco (2014). Other works include Peter Pan (2012) at the Sherman Cymru and Mikey and Addie (2012) for the Cultural Olympiad. He co-created Tiger and Tiger Tale (2013) and Little Red (2015) with Natasha Gilmore and the dance theatre company Barrowland Ballet. In 2024, his adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Odd and the Frost Giants was performed at the Unicorn Theatre.
Evans' awards include two CATS awards (one for The Voice Thief) and a Prix D'Orpheon (for The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk). In 2010, his play Pobby and Dingan won the TMA Award for Best Show for Children and Young People. He was shortlisted for the Brian Way Award for The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk in 2011. His work in the UK has been published by Faber and Faber and Samuel French and in France by . BBC Radio 4 broadcast his abridgment of A Patriot for Us by John Heilpern in 2006 and his radio play The Cracks in 2010.
Personal life Evans is gay.
Selected productions Year Title Premiere venue Writer Director Notes Ref(s) 1999 Whatever! The Musical! Bedlam Theatre/Edinburgh Fringe Festival Yes 2001 Dead Pan The Arches Yes Ghost Shirt Tron Theatre Yes 2002 New Town The Arches Yes 2004 A Girl in a Car with a Man Royal Court Theatre Yes Andrew Scott received the 2005 Olivier Award for his portrayal of Alex. 2005 Aruba Edinburgh Fringe Festival Yes Yes With People Can Run Theatre company 2006 Pinocchio Northampton Theatre Royal Yes Yes 2007 Fish Story Pleasance Edinburgh Yes Yes With People Can Run Theatre company Kappa Catherine Wheels Theatre Company Yes 2008 Rudolf MacRobert Arts Centre Co-created with Andy Manley 2009 Naked Neighbour (Twitching Blind) Tramway Yes 2010 Pobby and Dingan Catherine Wheels Theatre Company Yes Adapted from the Ben Rice book The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk Catherine Wheels Theatre Company Yes Winner of a Prix D'Orpheon Mr Snow MacRobert Arts Centre/West Yorkshire Playhouse Yes Yes 2011 Kes West Yorkshire Playhouse Yes Adapted from A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines; performance with the Catherine Wheels Theatre Company Caged Traverse Theatre Yes With the Catherine Wheels Theatre Company; retelling of Beauty and the Beast 2012 Peter Pan Sherman Cymru Yes Mikey and Addie London 2012 Festival Yes 2013 Sleeping Beauties Sherman Cymru Yes Retelling of Sleeping Beauty Tiger & Tiger Tale Tramway Co-created with Natasha Gilmore and Barrowland Ballet Ignition National Theatre of Scotland Yes 2014 The Voice Thief Summerhall With Catherine Wheels Theatre Company The Night Before Christmas The Arches Yes With Macrobert Arts Centre 2015 Little Red Tramway Yes Yes Co-created with Natasha Gilmore and Barrowland Ballet 2017 Crumble's Search for Christmas West Yorkshire Playhouse Yes Yes 2018 The Woods Royal Court Theatre Yes 2019 The Tale of Little Bevan Courtyard, Hereford Yes Commissioned by Pentabus The Dig Backstage Theatre (Longford) Yes The River and the Mountain LAMDA Yes 2021 Christmas Dinner Royal Lyceum Theatre Yes 2022 Death Drop: Back in the Habit King's Theatre, Glasgow Yes 2023 Too Close to the Sun Traverse Theatre Yes Yes Co-created with Natasha Gilmore and Barrowland Ballet; based on Icarus 2024 Odd and the Frost Giants Unicorn Theatre Yes Based on the book by Neil Gaiman
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